


Rebel Legacy

by Lechatelierite



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:33:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22024885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lechatelierite/pseuds/Lechatelierite
Summary: After connecting with the spirits of the Jedi, Rey has messages for General Hera Syndulla.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Rebel Legacy

Hera Syndulla’s arm was broken at the shoulder, red wires swinging from the cap. She examined the casing (shattered) the haptic cables (pulled apart) and the power cable (bizarrely, popped out of its socket but completely intact). Best to get to work putting it back together. She relished the moment of peace and concentration after the wild battle over Exegol. After making sure Jacen and the Ghost were all right, and discovering that Snap Wexley was not, she just wanted to listen to the wind rustle in the trees for a while. 

A new rustle began. Someone stood in front of her, between her and the celebrations she could hear closer to the ruins the Resistance had turned into their base. The air stilled, clarified, as if this person was a mirror. 

Hera Syndulla looked up from her broken arm. 

There stood the girl, thin and white-clad, her clothing stained with brown and black dirt and mud. Hera had never met Rey, but knew Leia had taken her under her wing. Rey was the hope of the Jedi, and therefore …

Rey’s next words did make it seem uncannily like she had read Hera’s mind. 

“Did you know Kanan Jarrus?”

“I did.”

Rey looked away, but stood her ground. “I … learned to connect to the other Jedi, just today. It’s like meditation, but the calm center of yourself is split into thousands of other centers, and each one is meditating with you. I don’t know all of them. They didn’t speak to me, or nothing about my life jarred their memories. But when I saw you, I remembered one. Kanan Jarrus? He knows you.”

Hera smiled. The grief had long cooled to a fond scar, well-earned and well-regarded. “He does. You could talk to him?”

Her arm was forgotten. Let it stay limp, for all the attention she paid as she waited for something she thought would be impossible to receive: new words from Kanan, new history in what had once been a closed book. 

“It’s confusing,” Rey said. “Unclear. Each Jedi is connected to so many other people. It was comforting and terrible and …” She wrung her hands, then regained her composure with visible effort. “But I do know that he called my name, and said I wasn’t alone. He said, ‘in the heart of a Jedi lies her strength.’”

Hera smiled. The words both were and were not perfect for Kanan. He had said those things, believed those things, about every person he had befriended. His belief in alliance and hope were part of what kept the Ghost crew together. They were also such different principles than the ones he had lived by when they first met. At once time, he would not have wanted to be part of the legacy of the Jedi. That legacy was as much about the Purge as it was about survival, and that made it horrific. But here he was, urging on a Force user from a new generation … “Thank you,” she said. “I’m glad you told me.”

Rey gave a tight smile. “I know you two were close. I don’t know details. I could feel every Jedi’s emotions, in a way. It was part of why I …” She trailed off. “We’re all connected. Just different outpourings of the same life force.”

Now, that had not sounded like Kanan. But at the same time, it had been how he had acted. The unspoken law behind his life: keep the group together. Be a good teacher. Help others grow. 

“There was another person who knew you, too,” Rey said.

“Ahsoka,” Hera said. It had been a long time since she had spoken that name. 

“Yes. She said the Force guided … us. All of them. The Jedi who used to live, the ones who died just before I was born. There may even be some who are still alive. Kanan was one of the few who recognized someone after I left. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.” 

“I’m glad you did.” Hera smiled. “I’ve been busy. The Force hasn’t been on my mind. But I’m glad to see another Jedi here, still with us.”

“There may be more.” Rey gave another tight smile. She was bashful, Hera thought, but with a solid core. "And … I might be able to help you with your arm.”

“I’ll repair it,” Hera said. “This isn’t the first time the old thing has acted up.” She shrugged her shoulder, metal clanking where it hung. 

Rey grinned. 

A male voice sounded from inside the forest. “Hey, Rey? That thing I’ve been trying to tell you?”

Rey met Hera’s eyes before starting to follow the voice. 

“Thank you,” Hera said.

Rey nodded.

Hera returned to the task of fixing her arm. It was easier to focus now. Easier to turn her brain off and let her hands do the work as they had done so many times. She knew how her own prosthetics worked. When she reached a connection that might need a trip to the base to jump-start, she paused. Thinking of Kanan and Ahsoka was not invigorating but rather heartening, full of the kind of strength Rey held behind her eyes—ashen, grave-marked, legendary and long-spanning. 

Hera listened to the sounds of celebration all around her, and fixed what she could.


End file.
